This book was indeed a sort of cut-and-paste accumulation of art, prose and poetry. Some pieces, like the Osap's Fables, seem at first glance to be completely nonsensical, while others seem to follow thought patterns. The shorter prose paragraphs often fell lyrically upon the ear enough for me to consider them poetry, and in fact often seemed to debate this fact within themselves. I actually found that my favorite piece wasn't one of the cut-up bits that give the Shredder it's unique internal look, but was actually one of the first pieces that falls into the 'prose' category. Gerard de Nerval's Chantilly is an expression of a place, a snapshot almost. The author gives to us his reminiscence about a place he obviously loves, from visual impressions to the memories they inspire, the character of which infinitely colors the impression of the place. Much like Chantilly lace he lays out the places and customs as you might excpect, and then he drops in the harshness of reality, deaths and sorrow that bring the rosy quality of the memories to a much deeper and more soulful hue. This piece is an exceptional example of what I feel gives way to the always present question, what is poetry?

Monday, April 16, 2007

Simply put, The Sienese Shredder is an annual journal of art, literature, poetry, and culture. I can say confidently this is definitely what it is because I personally went to sienese-shredder.com and, you know, that's what it says. It was very interesting to read. I can't say every single entry interested me. A lot of the more, er, academic entries tended to... not necessarily bore me, but they definitely did not excite me as much as the more poem-esque entries did. I especially liked Denise Duhamel's Ghost Weave. Maybe it's because I like ghosts or maybe it's because I've always wanted a brother, but I found Ghost Weave to be extremely entertaining. I mean, it was three stories pretty much in one! It also inspired me to do my own weave poem and I think I, along with plenty of others I am sure, tend to hold near and dear to my heart works of art that inspire me to create something of my own.

I also liked Edwin Denby's poem about the "no-nonsense escalator." See, I'm scared of escalator's because my Grandma was a scary person that told me really nonsensical things about ordinary everyday objects that transformed them, in my mind, into monstrosities. The escalator was one of them. And I am sure plenty of other kids can admit to being horrified by the story about the boy whose foot got stuck in the escalator. I mean, it's a traumatizing thing when you're seven years old. So I think the poem really hit a reminiscent spot for me which helped me to identify with it and ultimately cherish it.

Actually, I really liked all of The Sienese Shredder. Even the boring parts were more exciting than reading the usual monotony that people read in things like Time magazine everyday. And there was just something about the journal, beyond the entries, just a general feel about it I guess you could say, that really seemed to resonate with me. I felt like it's a journal that represents a new chapter in the life of art, a chapter that I get to be experiencing first hand, and as cheesy as that may sound, I'm not going to lie; I'm excited.

SYLLABUS

New College of Florida
Spring 2007
20318 Advanced Poetry:Visual, Concrete, and Avant-garde Poetry.
W 12:30-3:20 pm, Room: CFA 212
Prof: Nick Carbó
email: ncarbo@ncf.edu, ncarbo@aol.com
Office hours: PMD 215, Tuesday 2-5pm, and by appointment.
Required texts:
Modern Visual Poetry by Willard Bohn, (University of Delaware Press, 2001). ISBN: 0874137101
The Sienese Shredder # 1, Winter 2006-2007. Edited by Brice Brown and Trevor Winkfield. (Sienese Shredder Editions, 2006). ISBN: 0978710800
A Humument: A Treated Victorian Novel by Tom Phillips, (Thames & Hudson, 2005). ISBN: 0500285519
1. The work itself. The main focus of a creative writing class is the writing, objects, and visual texts produced by the students. I expect each one of you to have completed 10 finished and finely crafted poems/visual texts by the end of term. You will participate in several in-class writing exercises that will hone your sense of craft, expand your imagination, and lead you to explore various forms of creative written and visual expression. The work generated through these exercises will also be used for discussion to be submitted the next week. There can be no excuse for not having any work to submit to class. An unfinished piece can have many possibilities.
2. Final project. You must complete a final poetry/visual text project that will count heavily towards your final grade. The project can consist of designing and producing your own chapbook of poetry, creating a World Wide Web site with your poems, or making a 5-10 minute performance video of your poems. The project has to be done this semester for this particular class. Previous work for other classes does not qualify.
3. Reading assignments. The class will have its own blog space where students will post their responses to the assigned books. Posts should be at least three paragraphs in length. This will be a major part of your grade. The class blog is: www.visponewcollege.blogspot.com
4. Attendance. You may have two absences (excused or unexcused). Your final grade is heavily determined by your presence in class. Constant tardiness will be considered an absence. So, two late marks are equal to one absence. Coming in 30 minutes late and acting like nothing is wrong with that means you are obviously in denial that you will soon earn an F (not satisfactory) for the class. Being present for attendance at the start of class then leaving the class for periods longer than 10 minutes will be considered an absence. After two absences you will get an automatic F for the class. Don’t blame the professor for giving you an F because of tardiness of absences. You can earn an F as well as earn an A for the class. You are responsible for keeping track of your own absences.
5. Annoying cell phone ringing in class will earn you an F for the day.